The Telescope

Issue Date: 11/9/09

Justice is blinded by the limelight

By Camilo Barrero

Media Credit: Joseph Bonnet

Lindsay Lohan exemplifies how ineffective the criminal justice system can be.

After two arrests in 2007 for charges of driving under the influence (DUI) and drug possession, the actress was sentenced to an extended year-long probation and was ordered to complete alcohol counseling. Lohan returned to court this year for excessive absences to the program and again walked out with just a warning, a decision that leaves the impression that the law can be manipulated by those with money and connections.

She should go to jail. No hesitation, no more extensions. Since when should a person be able to just walk freely away after so many offenses? Unfortunately, Lohan is not the only one who has been exonerated sans due cause; Nicole Richie, Busta Rhymes, Mischa Barton, Paris Hilton and Shia LaBeuf have all benefited from the preferencial treatment entertainers are often afforded.

Rather than setting an example to younger generations who admire her, Lohan acts as if her notoriety comes without responsibility. She has become so negligent that in two years she hasn't redeemed herself. And now, a flawed decision puts her again above the law.

In California, a DUI could incur fees up to $1,800, a six month driver's license suspension, a DUI class and 48 hours of mandatory jail time or work service. A second DUI offense raises the punishment to a $2,800 fine, a two year loss of the driver's license and, in some cases, the installation of an ignition interlock device and between 10 and 30 days of jail. None of these have been levied on the Hollywood star.

Pleading that her career kept her out of the country for extended periods of time (and thus accounts for the missed meetings)the actress seems to have found be the perfect excuse. She has used it to gain leniency with the law when such lenity would be wasted on an unrepentant substance abuser like Lohan.

Sadly, American role models are consistently setting bad examples for today's youth and shirking their limelight-associated responsibilities. With their congenial misdeeds, celebrities exude a wanton disregard for authority, consequences and in general, the standards of a well mannered society.

Lohan will travel to New York on a charity trip in the coming months, after which she's slated to attend to her alcohol counseling program. Hopefully this time she sees the sentence through, while staying - relatively - out of trouble, lest she has to spend a night in a Beverly Hills jail. Or her bedroom. For high-profile celebrities, the two are essentially synonymous.

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